


Reassurances

by towokuwusatsuwu



Category: Kamen Rider Fourze
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Inferiority Complex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 16:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10881039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: Hayami has a lot of rough nights. Tatsugami catches him during one of them.





	Reassurances

There are always reasons to become afraid. With such a complicated mission on their hands and the ties of this mission binding them tighter together, there are always reasons to doubt, to feel inferior, to feel as though the inevitable end will come sooner than it should. Kouhei Hayami understands this far too well. He had been on the verge of being sent away, and only his powers, his strength, had kept him where he was now. Even then, he isn’t sure it will be enough.

Once he finds the final Horoscope, once the Pisces Switch is activated and strengthened, his use will have run out. Gamou will send him to the Dark Nebula, and he will have earned his place there as he has been unable to return the results Gamou wants from him.

In more ways than one, he is a failure. That stark reminder is always present at the forefront of his mind, ending with long and sleepless nights, creeping downstairs to sit alone on the couch, struggling to put the mess of his thoughts into a cohesive order that makes sense to him and allows him to sleep. Sleep deprivation only makes him slower at fighting, and they need him to fight no matter what. Fourze will not be leaving any time soon.

Tonight is one of those nights, those he’s chosen to hide out in the kitchen instead, his head resting in his hands and a glass of ice water forming a water ring on the table. He’s only taken a sip to help quiet the nausea developing in his stomach.

If it had just been the two of them, Gamou would likely have noticed his absence from bed and come down to check on him by now. But it isn’t just the two of them any longer. Kou Tatsugami has made himself an invaluable member of their team, his fierce loyalty and physical prowess enough to merit him a position as Gamou’s bodyguard. He performs his position well, and though Hayami understands why he is important— and can admire how well he handles the Leo Switch— he is still displeased to have him in their house.

He isn’t blind. He hasn’t missed the fanatical gleam in Tatsugami’s eyes where Gamou is concerned, and he knows what it means as well as anyone else. He remembers being dazzled in much the same way, unable to believe the power that Gamou held so easily.

The word  _ replaced _ flits through his mind without his permission. Combing his fingers through his hair, he leans back in his chair and sighs, staring at the ice melting in his glass, the perspiration beading on the side of the glass and rolling down to join the growing ring on the table. Tatsugami’s presence in the house has definitely been known; Hayami can’t bring it upon himself to ignore the man or the way he makes Gamou smile.

If he finds the final Switcher, then Gamou will no longer have a use for him and will abandon him. He can’t let that occur no matter what happens next. It has nothing to do with their end goal, even though he knows as well as anyone else that he cannot let that objective slip from his mind. It’s that he absolutely does not want to be separated from the sole being on this planet who understands him and gives him a reason to keep striving in life.

The familiar heavy footfalls on the stairs send a cold chill down his spine, and he grasps his glass, his fingers slipping on the slick surface. He manages to splash cold water down his front before the glass slips from his fingers, shattering on the floor. Swearing, he pushes his chair back and winces when the kitchen light flips on, flooding the room with light. The switch being on the other side of the room meant he couldn’t have turned it on himself if he wanted to; Tatsugami’s broad shoulders almost fill the kitchen doorway.

“You drop something?” he asks in his typical low, rumbling, just-woken voice.

“A glass of water, yes.” Hayami is more than a little annoyed to have been caught like this; he can easily clean up this mess without leaving any trace or evidence except now he’s been caught. “Would you be so kind as to hand me the broom?”

“You’ve cut yourself,” Tatsugami observes.

Hayami frowns at him, then glances down to see a shallow cut beginning to bleed just on the inner part of his foot, not far from his ankle. He must have caught a bit of glass when it shattered and exploded upon impact. “It’s nothing I can’t handle. The broom, and the mop—”

“You’re an idiot.” Despite the rough words, there is no malice in his voice. Before Hayami can offer a retort, Tatsugami crosses the room in quick, broad strides and picks him up off of the floor, setting him on top of the kitchen table, grasping him firmly by the ankle and lifting his foot to get a better view of the injury. “This is more important than a mess.”

“I’m really fine, it’s just a scratch,” Hayami insists, glancing down at the floor.

Tatsugami ignores him, leaving him sitting on the table as he retrieves a washcloth and dampens it, pressing it to Hayami’s foot. The pressure against the injury makes him hiss, and Tatsugami only gives him a knowing smile. “I thought so. Hold this here and let me worry about the mess. We can’t have you injuring yourself, Libra.”

“Does it matter?” Hayami snaps before he can think about it.

The silence that hangs between them is long and uncomfortable, and Hayami pretends to be busy checking his injury, refusing to meet the piercing gaze he can feel Tatsugami driving into him. Finally, Tatsugami retrieves what he needs to clean up the floor, moving the chairs as needed, mopping up the water before sweeping up the glass. He does it all with calm and precise movements; Hayami remembers how many broken glasses they had had to clean up when Tatsugami had first come here, handling everything with trembling hands either dazzled by wonder or by fear. Hayami remembers that feeling far too well.

When everything has been put away and the floor is clean, Tatsugami leaves the room for only a moment before returning with what Hayami recognizes as the first aid kit they keep in the downstairs bathroom. He says nothing as he pulls out a chair and sits down, pulling Hayami closer to the edge of the table and taking his injured foot in hand.

“What part of you believes that an injury does not matter?” he asks, peeling the washcloth away and using antiseptic wipes to clean the blood away.

Hayami fixes his eyes firmly on the wall, wincing at the sting of the antiseptic in the still-open wound. “Once Pisces is found, my value in this mission ceases and I will be of no more use to you or Master Gamou. It is simple logic. Even you should be able to understand.”

“Taking shots at my intelligence just because I don’t have the same fancy degrees that you and the Master have is not surprising, but it’s still tasteless.” Tatsugami smirks at him and Hayami huffs and twists his neck further away. “Do you think I came here just to usurp your place by his side? Or that he has no desire for you to reach the cosmos with us?”

“When the others became liabilities, they were sent away. I barely escaped such a fate myself. Once my part of this mission has been complete, it is the logical end for me.” Hayami flexes his foot in Tatsugami’s grip, biting down on his lip. It still stings.

Tatsugami tightens his grip on Hayami’s foot, setting the wipes aside and reaching for a packet containing a gauze pad. “You really do believe he doesn’t want you around any longer.”

“It would appear not,” Hayami says coolly. “He seems perfectly fine with you by his side.”

The silence returns once again as Tatsugami arranges the gauze pad to suit his wishes, then begins winding a white bandage wrapping around Hayami’s foot to keep it secured in place. Not for the first time, Hayami wonders why he is doing this in the first place. The two of them have hardly been companions during this time, more allies who work together to do as they must in order to achieve their goals. Surely, very little has changed on that front.

Tatsugami packs his supplies back into the box they remain in and returns his fingers to Hayami’s foot, massaging slow and easy pressure into his ankle. “You know, just because he enjoys having me at his side, that doesn’t mean he will abandon you.”

Hayami says nothing to that, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the wall.

“Your gift in helping us find the Switches we need to reach the cosmos has been a boon, that much is certain. You can see their potential in ways that we truly cannot.” Tatsugami’s fingers travel slowly up his leg and Hayami squirms at the sensation. “You look at your gift as nothing more than a means to an end, and it may be that for you. But your worth as a person does not deplete simply because you complete your mission. Master Gamou has not said a single word about sending you away. He once tried, that I know, but he seems firm in his belief that you will be with us there at the end of all things.”

“Why does it matter to you whether I am assured of my place with you or not? It shouldn’t matter to you if I make it or not in the end,” Hayami points out.

Tatsugami’s fingers are firm on his chin, tilting his head so their eyes finally meet. There’s a strange gleam in his eyes, one that Hayami has not seen before. “I’ve never had someone I’ve butted heads with quite as much as you, you know. I sincerely mean that.”

“You used to fight.” Hayami scowls at him. “Surely that means you had plenty of people to butt heads with in the past. I’m hardly the first.”

“You are correct. You are not the first.” Tatsugami leans back in his seat and Hayami turns slightly, propping both feet in his lap. It wouldn’t have been something he felt comfortable doing before, but at the moment… “But the others I could deal with physically and move on. I cannot say the same thing for you. Master Gamou would be very disappointed with me if I hurt you, and to be honest, the desire is simply not there this time. Verbal sparring is satisfying enough.”

Hayami shakes his head at him. “And what does that have to do with anything?”

“I think I would be disappointed if you were no longer around. I think Master Gamou would feel the same. He doesn’t send anyone away because he wants to. He does when they fail to live up to his expectations. And yet you’ve surpassed his.” Tatsugami grins at him, no doubt feeling he has made his point. Hayami can feel the red creeping up his neck.

Sighing, he leans back, bracing his hands behind him on the table. “I suppose I should have looked at it that way a long time ago. Thank you for your… Reassurance, Leo.”

“It is my pleasure, Libra.” Tatsugami brushes his feet aside and then stands between Hayami’s legs, leaning close to him, close enough that his warm breath tickles the side of Hayami’s neck. “Are you intending to stay up all night, or can I take you back up to bed?”

Hayami pretends to consider, a shiver running up his spine when Tatsugami drags his nose up the side of Hayami’s neck. “Well, I suppose. Since I’m injured.”

He wraps his arms tight around Tatsugami’s shoulders just as Tatsugami tucks his hands under his thighs and pulls him off of the table, hefting his weight with ease. In thanks, Hayami pecks him on the cheek, then rests his head on Tatsugami’s shoulder as he’s carried up the stairs.

It’s enough, he supposes. He can live with it.


End file.
